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In Year Of Seismic U.S. Shifts, Colorado Resists Big Changes

DENVER (AP) — In a topsy-turvy U.S. election, Colorado voters stayed the course Tuesday and avoided big changes in many top races.

Colorado chose a Democrat for president for the third consecutive cycle, and returned an incumbent senator and all seven members of Congress to Washington.

Election Day In Colorado
Voters cast their ballots for the US presidential election at Union Station in Denver, Colorado on Nov. 8, 2016. (credit: JASON CONNOLLY/AFP/Getty Images)

Perhaps the biggest change endorsed by Colorado voters Tuesday was a measure to help the terminally ill access life-ending drugs. Proposition 106 had performed well in polls and didn't dominate debate this election year.

Colorado voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure to start the nation's first universal health care measure. Amendment 69 would have set up a first-in-the-nation payroll tax to replace private health insurance.

Republican Kevin Priola's win in an Adams County seat currently held by a Democrat ensured that the GOP will keep its state Senate majority. Democrats retained their hold on the state House.

Here's a look at Colorado's notable races, along with some decisions too close to call:

BENNET KEEPS SENATE SEAT

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet won a second full term in the Senate. Colorado's senior senator defeated former El Paso County commissioner Darryl Glenn.

Until recent weeks, Colorado's Senate race mostly was a sleeper — a far cry from a bitter 2014 race in which Republican Cory Gardner ousted incumbent Sen. Democrat Mark Udall, whose attempts to tie Gardner to restricting women's health rights backfired.

Bennet once was considered among the Democrats' most vulnerable senators. But top-name Colorado Republicans declined to enter the race, and Glenn triumphed on the strength of his bedrock conservatism.

CONGRESS DOESN'T CHANGE

Colorado's incumbent members of Congress escaped any throw-the-bums-out repercussions. Democrats were hoping to unseat two Republican incumbents, especially Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora. But Republicans retained their 4-3 majority in the U.S. House.

BALLOT MEASURES A MIXED BAG

Coloradans voted to restore a presidential primary, raise the minimum wage and allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives in an election that also will make it tougher to get constitutional initiatives onto future ballots.

Voters soundly rejected a universal health care initiative and a proposed cigarette tax increase. Coloradans approved replacing the current Republican and Democratic presidential caucuses with winner-take-all presidential primaries.

LOCAL MEASURES WORTH WATCHING

Marijuana-related measures on ballots in Pueblo and Denver signaled Colorado's still-evolving pot landscape.

Denver voters were considering whether to allow some bars and restaurants to allow marijuana use, and Pueblo city and county were considering separate measures to kick out a burgeoning industry of pot growers, processors and retailers.

Voters in Boulder were looking at becoming the first Colorado city to institute a tax on sugary beverages, a move pushed as a way to tackle obesity.

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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